Mastering Value Betting

The purpose of value betting on the river is to extract value from your opponent when you believe your hand is ahead.

The bigger the bet, the more your opponent will contract their range and the bigger the gap between your landing equity and finishing equity will be.

You should value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is high.

<p>The purpose of denial is to deny equity to live hands that your opponent has to fold.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Urgency in value betting refers to how important it is to bet now based on the time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling. Weaker hands can delay betting, while stronger hands need to start betting earlier.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower as there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand. On the other hand, bigger stack depths increase the urgency.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Landing equity refers to the equity of a hand before the opponent reacts to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity after the opponent calls the bet. Higher landing equity generally leads to higher finishing equity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The urgency of value betting is determined by the amount of time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling of the hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Weaker value betting hands can delay their betting because they don't need to invest as much money by the end of the hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Stronger value betting hands want to invest more money by the end of the hand, so they have to start taking larger investments earlier.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower because there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent has reacted to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity after the opponent has called the bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Bet sizing affects the range of the opponent and the gap between landing equity and finishing equity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>On wet turns, lower landing equity is needed compared to dry turns or rivers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When in position, there is a risk of re-opening the action, making checking a more viable alternative.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When out of position, checking is a less viable alternative since the action is not closed for that street.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial is useful when the fold equity gained by betting is advantageous for the player.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Urgency in value betting refers to how important it is to bet now, based on the time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling of the hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Stronger value betting hands need to start taking larger investments earlier in the hand compared to weaker hands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The less the opponent is raising, the more important it is for us to build the pot with hands that have a high investment ceiling.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower as there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent has reacted to a bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Finishing equity is the equity of a hand after the opponent has called a bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Higher landing equity translates to higher finishing equity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At least 50% equity after being called (finishing equity) is needed to value bet the turn.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At least 55%-60% equity after being called is needed to value bet the river.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Less equity is needed to value bet the turn because denying equity to weaker hands that fold can still yield some EV.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The bigger the bet, the more the opponent will contract their range.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Because on wet turn spots, the hand is ahead more often than the equity suggests.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When in position, slightly more equity is needed to value bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When out of position, slightly less equity is needed to value bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>You must value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is high.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It is optional to value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is not high.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>You cannot value bet when your hand is not strong enough to pick any bet size or you are not building a betting range using a sizing small enough to value bet your hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denying equity to live hands your opponent has to fold.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial is useful when the fold equity obtained by betting is largely useful to you.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial can swing a thin value hand to a bet on a wetter texture, adding equity to hands which can give it enough equity to bet for value.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The urgency of value betting is determined by the remaining time in a hand, the desired investment ceiling of the hand, the opponent's raising frequency, the hand equity, and the stack depth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent reacts to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity of a hand after the opponent calls the bet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>At least 55%-60% equity is required when called to value bet the river.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The factors that should be considered when determining the landing equity needed for a value bet on wet turn spots compared to dry turns or rivers include the likelihood of our hand being ahead, the potential range of our opponent, and the viability of alternative options such as checking.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial (aka protection) is not a sufficient reason for betting because it only has a limited impact on the pot and it does not take into account the potential for losing additional money against hands that beat us when we risk a bet to make those hands fold.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Denial can be used as a swing factor in value betting by allowing us to convert a thin value hand, which would prefer to check in a way ahead/way behind situation, into a bet on a wetter texture. This can add equity to our hand and make it profitable to bet for value.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The higher purpose of a value bet is to either extract value from our opponent's weaker hands or to bluff them off their stronger hands. A value bet should not be made solely for the purpose of denying equity to live hands or protecting our hand.</p> Signup and view all the answers